bunny playhouse

this is fantastic playhouse i've ever seen.seriously!
exactly the type of set up i'm planning for my bunny :)

best hay for my bunny?

You've probably read in lots of places that it is very important that rabbits get lots of hay, but did you know that not all types of hay are the same? The type of hay you feed your rabbit will have a big impact on healthy it is, as some hays are more nutritious than others, and certain types of hay contain ingredients that can make your rabbit fat and sick if they eat too much of it.

Let's learn about different types of hay so that your bunny can be the healthiest bunny it can be!

There are two main types of hay, Grass Hay, and Legume Hay, Grass hay is the best type of hay for your bunny because it contains lots of nutrients, but not a lot of energy. Bunnies can get fat very easily, and a fat bunny is a sick bunny, so owners have to make sure that the bunny is not getting too much 'bad food' in their diet. The funny thing is that 'bad food' for a bunny is actually quite healthy for humans, so it is easy to think that you are giving your bunny good food when in fact you are giving it the bunny equivalent of a McDonald's meal.

Bad bunny foods include things like seeds, dried fruits, oats, cereals, bread, and grains. There are so many good things to feed a bunny that you shouldn't ever need to feed it these things, and you should be careful if you feed bunny pellets to buy pellets that do not contain these ingredients. But on with the hay!

Kaytee timothy hay

Grass hay includes hays like Timothy Hay, Meadow Hay, and Bermuda Grass. Timothy hay is usually quite easily bought in the USA, but make sure you find a good supplier who sells you fresh, clean hay.

Kaytee alfalfa hay

Legume Hays include alfalfa hay, clover hay, beans, peas, and peanuts. Your rabbit will find these hays super yummy, but they are not very good for it because they contain so much energy. The average house rabbit will not be able to burn off all the energy they get from these hays, and they will get very fat indeed.

If you can, make sure that your bunny has access to all the grass hay it wants to eat. Eating grass hay isn't just good for the bunny's physical health, it also helps the rabbit's mental health by giving it something to do. Chewing is very soothing for rabbits, and most rabbits love nothing more than to sit and chew away at their hay. This chewing also helps grind down their teeth, which keep growing and growing, and can get painfully long if not ground down by lots of chewing.

feeding tips

You'd think that feeding rabbits would be easy. Just chuck any old plant matter into the cage and have done with it, right? Wrong. This feeding methodology happens to be an excellent way to possibly kill your bunny, or make it very sick indeed. Knowing what to feed your rabbit, and especially what NOT to feed your rabbit is a very important part of rabbit care becase some of the foods that might seem like natural foods to feed your rabbit are in fact incredibly bad for it.

Culprit one: Lettuce. As a general rule, you should NEVER feed your rabbit lettuce. Lettuce contains lactucarium, which can give your rabbit diarhea so bad that it becomes fatal. Some people say that it is okay to feed Romaine lettuce because it contains the least lactucarium of the common lettuce varieties, but you wouldn't eat a product that only contained small amounts of arsenic would you? It's best to stay away from lettuce when it comes to your bunnies, and keep it for the salads.

Other common foods to avoid include cabbbage, parsnips, swedes, potato tops, and tomao leaves. There are plenty of good and tasty foods that you can feed your rabbit, so save these for the compost or maybe your own table if you're a fan.

If you let your rabbit free in the garden or home, make sure that you don't have any of the following growing in places that are accesible to the rabbit, as they can also be dangerous to your bunny:

Clover, Foxglove, Honeysuckle, Iris, Hemlock, Poppies, Deadly Nightshade, Buttercups, Bluebells, Arum Lilies, Ivy, Daffodils and other bulbs, Primulas, Jasmines, Fairy Primrose, Dahlia, Delphiniums, Larkspur, Snowdrops, Tulips, and Anemonies are all common plants that can cause problems for your bunny. In general it is best to restrict your bunny to grass only areas with no clover in them. Clover can cause gas, and rabbits have no means to expell the gas, which can mean bloat and death.

Safe foods to feed your bunny include hay (preferably Timothy Hay, as it contains the most nutrients, and not Alfalfa Hay as it tends to contain too much calcium to be healthy for bunny), there should always be plenty of hay available for your bunny every day. Reputable pellets from a pet store can be fed in small amounts, but they should not form the bulk of the rabbit's diet. Fresh foods such as carrot, apple, banana, and broccoli can also be fed in small amounts as treats.

A little care in choosing your rabbit's food can make a huge difference in your rabbit's health and happiness.

grooming your bunny

Grooming your bunny is very important indeed, and when you own a bunny, it is important that you learn how to groom it properly. All rabbits need grooming, but it is especially important if you own a long haired rabbit, because all that cute and fluffy fur can get tangled and matted and dirty very quickly if you don't pay attention to it.

Short haired rabbits should also be groomed to remove loose fur, dead skin cells, and as a means of accustoming your rabbit to being handled, and bonding with it. When rabbits love each other, they lick and groom one another, so by gently brushing and grooming your pet rabbit, you are showing it that you like it very much indeed.

Grooming also gives you a chance to check your bunny for any injuries that might otherwise go unnoticed, and to make sure that the claws are not too long, the ears are clean, and the eyes are bright and clear from any form of discharge. Outdoor rabbits especially need daily grooming, as without this it is very easy to miss signs of illness as well as things stuck in their coat, or digging into their skin.

For short haired rabbits, a soft brush should remove most of the loose fur and dead skin. For long haired rabbits, a slicker comb may be more useful for removing the long hairs, but please be careful when grooming your rabbit with anything metallic or rough. Your rabbit has very sensitive skin that can tear if you drag bristles across it too hard. Long haired bunnies generally have a fair bit of loose hair, and will need to be groomed daily if this hair is to not clog up the coat and cause problems, or worse, be groomed away and eaten by the bunny themselves.

When you first get your bunny, you should introduce it to being groomed so that it comes to enjoy the quiet petting time it gets with you. It is quite normal for rabbits to struggle when they are first being groomed, and to try and get away. But patience, persistence, and gentleness is the key to getting used to you, and being handled by you.

Though it is a chore, grooming your bunny can become a fun part of your day, and you will be surprised at how much difference regular grooming to make to how happy and friendly your bunny is. (Once you avoid the nips, grunts, and attempted scratchings, that is.)

sick bunny

Because bunnies are quite different from other animals, it can sometime be hard to know whether they are sick or not. Here are some signs to look for that may indicate that your rabbit is not feeling well. Please note that if you think your bunny is sick for any reason you should take it to the veterinarian. Too many rabbits die because people ignore their sickness until it is too late. If you do not think you can afford the occasional vet bill, then you should not get a rabbit, as they need health care like any other pet.

Signs Of Sickness

Bunny Not Eating

Whilst humans and lots of other animals can go for a rather long time without eating, it is not at all safe for rabbits to stop eating. Rabbits have a special type of digestive system which must be kept moving. If a bunny's digestive system stops moving, then the bunny can die very quickly. For this reason, if your bunny stops eating for more than a day, you should take it to the vet as quickly as possible.

No Bunny Droppings / Urine

If the bunny stops urinating and pooing, then you should take it to the veterinarian. Lack of poo can suggest a blockage in the gut, perhaps a fur blockage, or some other material if your bunny eats cardboard or carpet or other indigestible things that can get caught in its guts. Bunnies die very quickly from blockages, so it is VERY important that you take your rabbit to the vet quickly.

Bare Patches

Bare, itchy patches of skin Rabbits can sometimes get mites, which irritate the skin and cause the fur to fall away, revealing red scaly skin. This is different from a moult, in which a rabbit's skin may sometimes be exposed, but in the case of a moult, the rabbit will not be itchy, and the skin will be a healthy tone and smooth texture. If your rabbit has skin irritation, you should consult your vet.

Runny Eyes, Runny Nose

A rabbit with runny eyes or a runny nose should be observed carefully. If it does not clear up, and the bunny loses its energy and starts looking sick and unwell all over, then take your rabbit to the vet, as it may have an infection just as people sometimes do.

Red Urine

Sometimes rabbits have red or orange urine. This can happen if they have had too many carrots. Normally this is nothing to worry about, but if your rabbit seems sick in other ways, or if it does not clear up in a few days, you should think about getting bunny to the animal doctor.

bunnies and kids

Rabbits have been popular pets for children for many decades, and hutches down the bottom of the garden have become both a fixture in many homes, and a fond childhood for many. As people have come to understand bunnies better however, and to realize that keeping a rabbit in a wire box in the back yard can be tantamount to animal cruelty, there has also been a shift in the perception of the role of rabbits as children's pets.

Many bunny publications will stoutly declare "Rabbits are not good pets for children", and this can be true, up to a point. Rabbits are not good pets for anyone who is rough, impatient, or cruel. Rabbits often have no time for nonsense and will quickly put an end to interaction they don't like, by biting, scratching, or running away. If you don't like the idea that your child could be on the receiving end of a rather physical correction from a rabbit that doesn't want its ears pulled, or as the result of some such other real or perceived offense, then you should not be thinking about a rabbit as a pet for your darling offspring.

However, if the premise of getting a pet for your child is to teach your child how to be responsible for another life, and how to be caring, gentle, and understanding of other creatures and their needs, then a rabbit can be a perfect pet. Rabbits can be kept in relatively small apartments, if given the opportunity to run around outside of their cages. They are quiet, and do not smell as long as they are kept clean. (Keeping them clean may require cleaning them out twice daily if they are in a small cage in a small space however.)

If the necessary time is taken with them, they can become affectionate and playful pets, and if they are well taken care of, may even live between 5 - 10 years.

Some things you should be aware of if you are intending on getting a rabbit as a pet for your child:

Rabbits need exercise like any other animal. They are a prey animal, and their joy comes from running around, jumping and twisting in the air. They cannot be kept in their little cage or little backyard run indefinitely. Think of how rabbits are in the wild. They do not hop around in a few feet's worth of space, and a domestic rabbit loves to run around as much as its wild counterpart.

They need attention and affection, and they need it at their own pace. They are not good candidates for childish smothering, and small children will need to be supervised around them.

However, many rabbits are not overly receptive to human attention, especially in the beginning, You and your child will need to take the time to build the rabbit's trust.

Rabbits can scratch and bite. These are both painful, and can easily result from clumsy handling.

Bunnies are relatively frail, and special care has to be taken so that they do not hurt themselves while they are being handled or picked up.

Rabbits need a constant supply of hay.

Rabbits should NEVER be fed lettuce, as this can be lethal. There are a number of other things bunnies should never be fed

when your rabbit bites

oh i can see those teeth =B

Rabbits, whilst being incredibly cute, playful, fun little individuals, also have some tendencies that may be somewhat surprising to the uninitiated. Though they are prey animals, they can have a somewhat vicious streak at times, and those big incisors can make for a nasty bite if bunny decides that you deserve it.

People are often mystified about what to do when their rabbit starts behaving like a pit bull, but here are a few tips to get you through the hard times.

Here's what to do if your bunny bites:

STEP ONE: Do NOT hit the bunny, or toss it across the room whilst screaming wild curses. The desire for this sort of reaction is understandable, but is generally frowned upon in rabbit keeping literature. Gently encourage the bunny back to its cage, where it can feel safe and can decompress. Think of it as a bunny time out, if that helps.

STEP TWO: Clean and disinfect the bite. You don't want to have any nasty infections to be weakening you next time you have to do battle with the small, fragile, and fuzzy creature.

STEP THREE: Figure out why the bite occurred. Did you scare the bunny? Did you offend the bunny? Did you hurt the bunny? Did the bunny simply decide that you needed to be taught a lesson? All these reasons are valid ones in the mind of a rabbit.

STEP FOUR: Once you have determined the reason, take steps to avoid it again. Rabbits that are in pain, or are scared will often bite, and you don't want your pet to become frightened or perpetually hostile towards you. Bunny/human relations can often break down when these incidents occur, and if you don't stop and think about things from the rabbit's perspective, then you may end up with a situation less easily resolved than the conflict in the middle east.

STEP FIVE: Make amends. Or, as our Christian friends like to say, turn the other cheek. This doesn't mean you should shove your fingers down the bunny's throat, but you should spend some time interacting with it in a positive way, once you have both had time to calm down. Keep an eye on the bunny in future, and if it shows signs of trying to bite again gently dissuade it. Bonding with your rabbit in a positive way is the best way to reduce future bites.

To squeal, or not to squeal?

Some sources say that you should emit a high pitch squeal if the bunny bites you, letting it know it hurt you. This only works if the bunny didn't intend to hurt you, which in some cases, it did. After all, what do you think it was trying to do when it abandoned its herbivorous instincts and got a mouthful of flesh? Squealing may help, it may not. Try it and see what your bunny does. If it simply gets a pleased and sadistic look in its eye, you can assume that it didn't help.